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Quin had been scouting about, exploring this strange new territory into which he had landed. He had taken the time to scout around the area close to the den where Amélie had taken him but was tired of that and of trying to skirt around the feet of other wolves. He was still slightly uncomfortable with the fact that he couldn't talk to the others around here except the strange grey female. It was hard for a young wolf not to be able to communicate and it was making him a little lonely.

He skirted around a fallen tree, trying not to get his small paws entrapped in the branches, and was distracted from doing what he should have : looking ahead. When he did look up he almost leapt back. There was another young wolf standing a few yards away from him, back turned towards him. Quin raised his nose and sniffed; not finding the, by now familiar, sea scent which he had come to associate with Amé's mate's pack. The pup looked a little younger than he and seemed to be feeding. A brief flash of hope came upon him as he wondered if this younger pup might be of his own pack but born after he had gone. But no. The smell wasn't right and there had been none of his colour in Quin's pack.

Having found little companionship so far in the wolf pups of this region Quin might have left but he was drawn to this other for some reason. Reasoning that no wolf liked to be crept up on, he backed up and wandered in a wide circle around the pup. Coming back towards him he tried his best to make some noise and called out "Aluu.." softly as the brindle pup came into sight. He knew the word itself wouldn't be recognised but the intent, he hoped, would be.

The posture, tone and the way the other regarded him warily meant that Quin could guess what the other was saying to him. He just wasn't sure what to reply. "Avara Quin.." I'm Quin he said, padding forward. His tone was jovial, his expression and posture, if not submissive, certainly not threatening. He had come to rely on his posture, inflection and tone amongst these wolves who did not speak his tongue. It seemed that body language and tone were a solid core of communication which didn't change much even as languages did.

The pup noticed the prey once again in the younger pups maw and sat down a short way from him. He was a little hungry but wasn't about to try and steal this pups kill and wanted him to know it. His tail wagged as he looked at the other pup, an openly friendly act, and he yipped a short, high pitched bark that tailed off into a puppyish yowl which he had also found communicated something all puppies were familiar with: "Want to play?"

His ears pricked somewhat comically as he overacted his body positions to convey his meaning.

The pup seemed to take a moment to decide on what to do before coming at Quin playfully. The black and white pup grinned happily, raising up on his hind legs and batting at the other pup with his front paws in mock-battle. It had been a long time since he had last really fooled around with his brothers and sister and he realised as he was doing it how much he had missed it.

Coming back down onto all fours, Quin picked up the name of the other. 'Valerius' eh? He had come to recognise the word 'I'm' it was the same as Avara - a word refering to yourself. Still, though, he had not attempted to mimic any of these words yet... He had a hard time remembering them even though he could recognise them.

Now wasn't the time to think about that, though! Quin pounced forward, towards the darker pup, tail wagging furiously, really happy for the first time since he had washed up on the beach.

Quin returned the enthusiasm with gusto and despite being pushed down by Val's first mock-pounce, he recovered enough to make a go of pushing Valerius off. Quin was not very big for his age and this pup was almost as old as he - the pair were a good match for this rough and tumble.

Finding himself unable to get out of Valerius's grab, he squirmed, pushing the other pups chin up with his paw in an effort to get free. It was nice to be tussling like this, like a normal young wolf, free from the cares which had been plaguing him.

Seeing an opening, Quin pulled himself free. Just! He yipped a cheerful bark, tail blurring, milky blue eyes shining. He grinned and headbutted the side of his companion in an effort to overturn him, giving light puppy-ish nips to his rump.

Grinning, enjoying himself, he wasn't careful and was thumped by Val's paws, falling over himself and rolling. He stopped, wagged his tail happily and screambled back onto his feet. The pied pup was delighted but danced back a little from Val, trying to stay out of his way, a challenge in his mind. He yowled a small, puppyish howl and darted back and forth, almost falling over his own paws but bursting with an enery he couldn't contain.

His rear end in the air, he sprang forward, but past, Val, bounding a little way and then looking over his shoulder as if to say "Well, come on!" he wanted to race! Darting back to the brindle pup he tugged at his ear trying to coax him forward.

Quin was taken aback as the other raced ahead. The cheat! he grinned to himself, setting off after the other pup. The pied pup tore off after the darker brindled male as fast as his legs could carry him. He was growing and his legs were getting longer but they were still a little on the stubby, puppyish side.

As he ran his ears fell back, his tail streamed out behind him and his thin fur was blown back in the wind. He darted over branches and dodged bushes, trying to keep himself from tumbling or skidding by letting his claws grasp into the ground.

He enjoyed the feel of his muscles working, the air blowing by him and the rush of the competition. His breath misted in the cool air as he caught up with Valerius, glint in his eye as he drew even with him.

Quintus drew level with the brindle pup, his tongue hanging out of his muzzle as he ran, his eyes flickering back and forth to see where his new companion was and if he was taking the lead. Slowly he passed Valerius, a grin stealing over his maw, and drew closer to the river which they had been running across.

The river appeared to swerve into their way, a deeper, calmer stretch on which floated a somewhat large log. The log was placed perpendicular to the edge of the river and crossed nearly its entire length.

Not thinking, Quin scrabbled forward, leapt, landed and was off the log again before it ould spin him off. Exulting in this small victory he looked over his shoulder, milky blue eyes gleaming, expecting to see Val following him.